Pruftechnik Blog

laser shaft alignment

How adaptive alignment tools adapt to a range of situations and challenges

by

Machinery alignment scenarios are rarely the same. Using an easy shaft alignment tool that works for some simple jobs can introduce new errors on more complex projects. This unnecessarily complicates the alignment process, frustrating technicians, and driving up operational costs. Frequently, what maintenance leaders save with a cheaper system they lose in manual efforts and rework.

Enter adaptive alignment, a signature feature of PRUFTECHNIK laser shaft alignment systems.

This combination of software and hardware innovations enables maintenance teams to address any shaft alignment task, from the standard, daily, and straightforward alignment jobs to more complex and challenging tasks – such as aligning Cardan shafts, vertical flanged machines with right-angle gearboxes, or extensive machine trains with gearboxes.

Adaptive alignment systems contain Active Situational Intelligence (ASI), a software innovation with capabilities that enable the solutions to take on from the standard to complex and challenging tasks and complete them faster and with more accuracy than the many more basic solutions on the market.

Here are some of the adaptive alignment enhancements:

Multi-Factor Quality Enhancement

With this feature, the software detects and compensates for many factors that might negatively influence a measurement. It provides technicians with immediate feedback and allows even less experienced technicians to fetch high-quality measurements just by following the steps and tips displayed on the screen.

Uncoupled Shaft Awareness

When installing machines, the alignment should begin with uncoupled shafts to remove any residual forces in the machine train. But basic systems don’t have optimized measurement procedures for uncoupled shafts. Technicians must manually hold shafts to make sure both are at the same relative angle, then manually take the point, then manually move them. This method dramatically increases the risk of errors.

With adaptive alignment, uncoupled shafts can be in any position—the laser only needs to hit the detector. During the measurement, shafts can be freely moving while the adaptive system works out the angles and obtains the measurement. This capability delivers high ROI when teams are installing an asset because you get accurate results and required machine movements in the fastest possible time.

Virtual Move Simulator

Moving the machine is often the costliest part of alignment—and carries with it the risk of additional cost and time if it turns out to be the wrong move. Virtual Move Simulator (VMS) has saved technicians thousands of hours across many industries around the world by enabling them to model different options for a move, see the results, and refine choices before actually doing the physical movement. Read this separate blog post for more on VMS.

Live Move

Single-laser technology delivers rapid completion of alignment tasks while improving precision. Systems outfitted with this technology let technicians see corrections in real-time. They can view updated live results in both vertical and horizontal planes simultaneously across the full range of the sensor detection surfaces. With this capability, you avoid the limitations inherent to non-adaptive, dual-laser systems that have a line-over-length divergence problem.

Adaptive alignment can save time, improve accuracy, and offer numerous other advantages. Learn more about the adaptive alignment concept and feature set in PRUFTECHNIK systems by visiting our website.

Active Situational Intelligence provides real-time measurement guidance

by

Active Situational Intelligence

Misaligned machinery is costly for a number of reasons, from increased energy consumption to more frequent repairs and failures to shorter asset life cycles. Precisely aligned machines use up to 10 percent less energy than misaligned ones.

Correct alignment is important not just at commissioning, but as part of regular, ongoing maintenance. Laser alignment is an accurate, efficient way to make sure assets are precisely aligned. To ensure the most effective alignment, you need a tool that pairs the right hardware with the right software. Alignment may seem simple on the surface, but in reality, the process is full of variables.

Adaptive alignment tools are designed to save time and money, enabling maintenance teams to solve alignment challenges from the simple to the complex, and for almost any asset or situation.

Active Situational Intelligence, or ASI, is a Pruftechnik innovation that makes an adaptive alignment tool accessible for users of any skill or experience level. The software provides instant—and specific—feedback to the user as they are performing a continuous sweep and lets them know exactly what they need to do differently to improve the accuracy of a measurement. For instance, a notification will pop up on a tool’s screen to say “rotate slower” or “direction reversed” so the technician can make the necessary corrections in the moment.

In addition to this real-time guidance, ASI automatically detects and filters out errors such as environmental vibration or coupling backlash. In non-adaptive alignment systems, these factors can compromise measurement quality. With ASI, a quality measurement is ensured—even in the most challenging situations. Over time, technicians with the least training and experience can learn how to improve on subsequent measurements and ultimately obtain the same quality of results as more experienced technicians.

By eliminating errors and guesswork, ASI allows maintenance teams to unlock their full potential and capacity—and to do the same for their assets.

How to diagnose and correct soft foot (part 2)

by

Eliminating soft foot before attempting machinery alignment will save you time and money

In the first installment of this two-part blog series about soft foot, you learned how to identify the symptoms, effects, and types of soft foot conditions. In this second post, you’ll learn how to diagnose and correct the condition and what types of tools to use.

It’s estimated that two-thirds of all rotating machinery have soft foot conditions. Soft foot is also the root cause of most alignment issues and is considered to be the most critical thing to check before performing an alignment. So why is soft foot one of the most overlooked machinery problems?

Granted, the process of diagnosing and correcting soft foot can be frustrating, and it often takes longer to fix than the actual machine alignment. However, if you can remain calm and think critically, the effort always has a huge payoff which is preventing machine destruction.

Soft foot toolkit (Diagnosing soft foot)

Several ways exist to diagnose and measure soft foot. It’s essential to apply the following methods during every machine alignment and installation to determine if there’s a soft foot condition.

Having the right devices on hand can make detecting soft foot go smoother and faster. Here’s a list of tools to help you measure for soft foot and eliminate any debris found under and around the feet to ensure machine alignment.

  • Image 1 – Feeler gauge
    Image 1 – Feeler gauge

    Feeler gauge: A feeler gauge is used to measure gap widths or the clearance between two parts. The tool has several steel blades with different thicknesses that can measure as little as 1/1000 of an inch or up to a quarter (¼) inch.

 

  • Micrometer or digital caliper: A micrometer can also measure gap thickness. The tool is used to verify shim thickness. A caliper is used to measure shim stacks before inserting them under the feet. This verifies that the shims are the thickness as labelled and not defective.

    Image 2 – Digital caliper
    Image 2 – Digital caliper
  • Wire brush: This clears away the debris or corrosion you may come across while checking machinery feet.
  • Cleaner/degreaser: Use a heavy-duty degreaser in combination with the wire brush to clean existing shims and contact surfaces during the soft foot correction. Brake cleaner works well, but you might also have success with other well-known commercial cleaners.

 

  • Laser shaft alignment system: A laser system can be helpful when measuring for soft foot and is easy to use. This sophisticated tool walks you through the measurement process via a series of screens and includes an auto diagnosis. Although you can use either a dual or single laser shaft alignment system, a dual system can be more challenging to use.

 

Correcting soft foot with shims

Using shims to correct machine foot issues is usually very effective. However, if the frame or mount is bent, twisted, or cracked, or other overall machinery destruction has occurred, correcting the condition can be quite tricky.

In most cases, the machine you’ll be working on will already be shimmed. It’s a good practice to clean any shims that are not new and also clean the base plates and feet to eliminate any dirt and debris. If you do not remove the corrosion, paint, and grime that can accumulate over time, it’s possible to form a new condition, squishy foot, during alignment.

5 rules to avoid squishy foot

Here are some good rules of thumb to follow to better ensure that you don’t create a squishy foot condition while trying to eliminate another soft foot condition.

  1. Use shims big enough to cover at least 80% of the footprint. Shims come in many sizes, and if the machinery requires large shims, they’re usually fabricated on site.
  2. ShimApply no more than four shims under each foot. If you add too many shims, you risk producing a spring-like situation, i.e., squishy foot.
  3. Sandwich thin shims in between thick shims. It makes placement easier and eliminates the potential for shim creasing.
  4. Measure stacks with a micrometer to verify shim thickness. Use it to make sure things add up as they should because errors or defects sometimes happen during manufacturing.
    Shim rules pic
  5. Measure shims over 0.030 to verify thickness. Some sources might recommend lower or higher thicknesses, but ultimately, it’s your decision.

By following these soft foot best practices, including applying the right methods and tools to accurately diagnose and correct the condition, you set yourself up for success. Always remember to check for soft foot before aligning shafts. It will save you time, money, and headaches.

For a more in-depth look at soft foot, watch the Fluke Accelix Best Practice Webinar, “A hard look at soft foot: detecting machine frame distortion before it causes major issues.”

sensALIGN: the secret sauce in PRUFTECHNIK laser shaft alignment systems

by Leave a Comment

A worn-out bearing may have many causes. But, in most cases, the source of the problem is misalignment. High resilience from the rotatable shaft may result in bearing damage that affects your machines and leads to production inefficiencies.

sensALIGN

PRUFTECHNIK, the inventor of laser shaft alignment solutions, can uncover the underlying issue. Now a division of Fluke Reliability, it has been diagnosing misalignment for more than 35 years.

In this blog post, we shine the spotlight on one of its latest innovations — and a key feature behind its industry-leading ROTALIGN and OPTALIGN tools.

sensALIGN is the laser and sensor measurement technology that is unique and a differentiator in precision shaft alignment. It is available with both ROTALIGN touch and OPTALIGN touch.

Past measurement practices now obsolete

Let’s see how alignment conditions for rotatable machines were analyzed in the past. Measuring by straightedge and dial gauge was the standard. Even today, some specialists still trust in this ancient technology.

It is not incorrect to use straightedge and dial gauge, but it is time-consuming and requires meticulous and skillful personnel when it comes to getting accurate measuring results.

To accurately measure the angularity of a misaligned machine, it takes at least two measurements on a dial gauge. It is extremely important to put distance between the first measuring point and the second one. The further the distance, the more accurate and precise the measurement.

To measure offset, you repeat the measurement in another clock position different from your first two measurement points. As you can see, this job is time-consuming, and for specialists only.

PRUFTECHNIK has made all this redundant with the sensALIGN laser and sensor technology.

Combining two measurements into one

As we just noted, measuring angularity and offset always takes at least two measurements. The sensALIGN technology does it all with a single measurement.

The single laser beam is shot into the sensor center, where it is focused and minimized by an optical lens. A semipermeable mirror splits the laser beam into two, deflecting one beam onto the front detector and the second onto the rear detector.

This distinctive global technology guarantees that the distance between the first and the second measurement point will always be the same, exact distance. The front detector equals the first dial gauge measurement point, while the rear detector equals the second dial gauge measurement point.

Based on this, the distance between the laser and sensor can be either set down to zero millimeters or up to as much as 10 meters.

The high-performance technology guarantees precision and repeatability.

Now, let’s see and understand how precise PRUFTECHNIK’s sensALIGN detectors are. The resolution of each detector is at 0.001 millimeter; that means 1 micrometer.

And since the detector areas are given in x- and y-axis, sensALIGN can measure shaft angularity and offset in one single shaft rotation.

Live Move and Live Trend features

Additionally, the Live Move feature, which enables aligning the machine shaft with the laser and sensor heads mounted to directly control the alignment process, can be started and terminated in any position.

Another special feature that only PRUFTECHNIK provides is Live Trend, based on the x- and y- split detection areas. The sensALIGN laser and sensor technology can record the thermal growth of the machine while it is running.

ROTALIGN touch is featuring the high-performance sensALIGN 7 laser and sensor heads, including all PRUFTECHNIK intelligent shaft-alignment features such as the advanced multi-coupling measurement and Live Move of up to 6 shaft couplings at a time.

OPTALIGN touch is equipped with the powerful sensALIGN 5 laser and sensor technology. This alignment device is a must-have tool for every maintenance workshop.

OPTALIGN can be easily upgraded with a sensALIGN 7 laser and sensor unit for full access to PRUFTECHNIK intelligent alignment features, including alignment of vertical machines and extended cardan shaft features.

For visuals on how sensALIGN works, please watch this PRUFTECHNIK video.

Learn more about ROTALIGN touch and OPTALIGN touch at PRUFTECHNIK.com.